Coaching U4 Soccer
Thank you for volunteering to coach at MTFC. We have worked very hard to create an environment focused on fun and learning. This general attitude is especially important with kids of this age. This handout has been put together to help those that do not have much coaching experience or Soccer experience. Hopefully it will serve as a starting point for you to come up with your own creative ways to make soccer a fun and positive
experience for our kids.
Introduction: Just Go Out and Have Fun
If you've never coached or played soccer, you might have an advantage over people that have. Experienced players have a vision in their mind of how the game is to be played. Many of them can have problems bringing it down to the level of a 3 or 4 year old. On the other hand, a parent who understands children will usually be a very successful coach, because they have no expectations of what these kids can do in relation to soccer. They go out, play a few games, kick the ball around, joke with the kids, and just have a good time. Another key to success at this age group is to bring your intellect down to that of a 3 or 4 year old. Their behavior is both pretty simple and pretty silly. In my opinion, the perfect person for a soccer coach in this age group would be that of Bill Cosby.
Getting Organized
Team Name
Most new coaches let the kids vote on a team name – common rookie mistake. 3/4 year olds have no place in a democracy. As coach, look at your jersey color and come up with a name to match. Remember; think like a 3/4 year old - Monkeys, Sharks, Dinosaurs, etc…
Parents Meeting
Discuss the developmental difference between children
Remind your parents that all kids develop differently. The child who is a daisy picker this season may blossom into a tiger over the course of a few months. At times you can even see the light go on in their heads when they finally "get it". Also, either now or during the season if needed, make sure parents know that they don't need to be embarrassed if their child is one who "doesn't quite get it". I have done this numerous times and the parents always look relieved when I mention the subject. It is very important they stay positive with the child.
Cheering
Encourage the parents to cheer for all the kids, and to follow your lead on what the kids are doing right. Oddly enough, I usually don't cheer to loud for a goal. They get enough of that from everyone else. I'll cheer loudest for the child that does something exceptional, like taking the ball cleanly from an opponent, running back hard on defense, or helping up a teammate who has fallen down.
Stuff to bring to your practice
This is for you overachievers out there who really want to be prepared.
A whistle
It can be helpful to get the kids attention, especially if your voice doesn’t carry well.
An extra set of shinguards
Kids have to have them to practice, and it can save a kid from missing a practice.
Some cones or pylons
These give you something to use as a marker when you start to invent games
First Aid Kit
Treats
The single most important secret to being the best coach ever. 5 years from now, they'll only remember the treats. Practice treats are not provided, so I suggest getting the parents to help restore your stockpile as the season continues. Try to have enough treats for siblings that have to sit through the practice also. It makes the parent’s life easier.
The First Practice - Getting Started
Introduce yourself to players and parents as they show up
Teach players to shake hands and introduce themselves to each other as they show up. You’ll have to carry them through this. They are very undeveloped socially. Just let them goof around until the rest of the team shows up. Talk to them and joke around with them, remember, some of them are first timers.
Gather the kids around…….
Tell them how the practices will go. You’ll play a few games,
do some drills and then a scrimmage. Ask them if they
know the most important rule (having fun and being nice).
Tell them the name of the team.
First Thing-
This is a drill I have them do in order to learn all the names on their team. I’ll usually do it the first three practices until they seem to get it right.
Circle passing drill - Emphasis is on learning each other's names.
Spread them around into a circle. (A surprisingly difficult task!) Instruct them to yell their names as they kick the ball to someone else. After they have had a chance to yell their own names a few times. Have them yell the name of the teammate they are kicking it to.
Second Thing-
This is great for maintaining order and getting the kids to focus.
Basically, whenever you shout “Endline”, they are supposed to run to
the endline next to the goal, and stand on the line with their arms
extended sideways (spread your wings). This puts them all in one
spot, and keeps them spread out so they can’t touch, poke and bother each other.
Endline Drill - This is used to keep them in order during practice
Have them dribble around in a predefined area. Blow your whistle and shout “Endline, Endline, Endline”. Chase them to the line, help them spread out. Tell them “good job” As soon as they are set, have them go out, dribble around, and do it again. Repeat until they seem to get it.
Third Thing -
Soccer Basics
Soccer is wonderful in that it can really be distilled down to a very simple game. This is one of the reasons I think it is such a great sport for children. At this age, the key is to keep it as simple as possible. I emphasize the following points:
No Hands….
I’ll bounce the ball off their knees, heads, heads, etc…
and ask them if it’s ok to hit the ball with that part of their
body. They say “YES”. Do we ever touch the ball with
our hands? “NO”
Be nice…..
Go over the concept of cheering for teammates and encouraging them.
Some things to keep in mind on this first day….
Listen to what you tell them
Be very loud and as precise with your instructions as possible. 9 out of 10 times, if the kids
have not done what I asked of them, it is because I did not do a good job of telling them
exactly what I wanted them to do. If I yell "OK, Everyone line up", they will mill around, look at their buddy, and presume they are lined up just fine with him. However, if I yell, "everyone line up on the endline with your balls and spread your wings", they will do exactly that and be happy to do so.
Don't Worry, Be Happy
Never get frustrated with the level of soccer play. Always be
loud in a positive way. Never get loud in a negative way.
Understand that some kids are not mature enough to "get"
what is going on. The mark of a good coach is to work to make
sure that these kids have fun too. Please don't get frustrated
with them, instead, try to be amused by whatever is going on
in this child's head. As a coach, you want to make sure this
child is having fun, and he wants to come back the next day
and the next year and play. As long as he keeps having fun, he will continue to come back until the day he finally does “get it”. And, if you are having a bad day, ask one of the parents to help you out. The kids will notice and react to your attitude!
More Concepts to work into your Practice
Beginning of Practice Routine
Stretches
This is really just to get them in the habit and all in one place at the start of practice.
These kids are already more flexible than you or I would be with three hours of
stretching. Make it quick and easy. I usually do toe touches, jumping jacks, etc…
Ball Rollies
Rolling the ball back and forth and side to side with the bottom of the foot
Ball Steppies
This is a basic foot coordination skill. Stand in front of the ball and with a small hop; touch the ball with the ball of the foot. Bring foot back to ground. Repeat. The idea is to just tap the ball without moving it. After a while, you might move up to alternating feet with each hop… After a while, you might have them try it without looking at the ball. This skill is made into a drill by asking them to count how many they can do in 10 seconds. Then have them do it again and see if they can beat their own record. (This seems like a great idea until you realize that half of them can’t count.)
Basic Rules Understanding
Out of Bounds - Some kids won’t have a good grasp on “in-bounds”
The first practice or two, run laps around the field yelling “in bounds- out of bounds” and
have them run on that side of the line.
Goal kick
Sorry….Still working on an easy way to get this point across to 3/4 year olds - good luck!
Corner kicks
Ditto…..
Take a knee drill
This is to teach the kids to immediately take a knee when play is stopped for an injury.
I’ll have them dribble around until I yell take a knee. They are to stop and get on one
knee as fast as they can. It’s kinda silly, but they need to learn it.
“Get up fast when you fall down” drill (a/k/a Popcorn)
If you thought the last one was silly… I started this in response to kids falling down
in games and just laying there. We talk about how you can’t play soccer if you are laying
down, and you can’t help your teammates. Basically, I have them dribble around, and
they are all supposed to fall down whenever I yell “drop”. As soon as they hit the
ground, I start yelling, “Pop up!”. We’ll do this a few times until they get bored. It makes a surprising difference in the way some kids act during a game.
Red Light Green light
Sometimes I'll throw in blue light and make them cluck like a chicken. Emphasize that they are to take “Tiny Kicks” and keep the ball close to their body. On red lights, they are supposed to stop the ball with their foot. If the ball is not close to them, they can’t stop it.
Sharks and Minnows
Classic Kids game. One kid starts without a ball, and he chases the other kids around
trying to kick their ball away from them. If their ball goes out of bounds, they become a
shark and have to help trying to kick other kids balls away.
Follow the leader
Have them follow you around. The intent is to practice dribbling
and to take breaks to work on minor skills. Every 20 steps or so,
do something like “take a knee” or “right shoe with your laces
only” or anything bizarre you can think of.
Dribbling in a square / Simon says
Set out a 20’ x 20’ square. (You can change the size as needed.) Have the kids dribble
around inside the square without hitting anyone else or anyone else’s ball. After they get
comfortable with this, yell out different commands. Do 10 steppies…Take a knee..Touch the ball with your knee…Cluck like a chicken. A variation of this is to make it like “Simon says.” They have to keep dribbling until you say “Simon Says”.
Count your dribbles
One of those drills that works well with kids that can count. Have them dribble down to a cone as fast as they can and come back. Have them count their kicks. Do it again, and tell the kids to try to beat their own record by kicking it more times than before. You are trying to teach them to take small kicks and control the ball, but still move quickly.
New games
Ask the kids what games they play at school. Try to create a soccer variation for practice.
Avoid having anyone “sit out”
Avoid games where someone has to sit out. Instead, make them do something else like
dribble to a cone that’s about 20 yards away, and then come back and into the game.
Scrimmages
Scrimmages are the most important part of your practice. That is what the kids want to
do. At this age, make sure you scrimmage every practice. Talk to the other coaches that are practicing on your night and make sure everyone gets a fair shot at scrimmaging. Make it a learning experience, and teach both teams, not just your own. Don’t be afraid to stop the game to make a point, just don’t do it so much that it takes away from the game. Try not to single out someone’s mistake, but focus on the concept of what is correct. IE….Who knows why we stopped? That’s right, it went out of bounds.
Game Time
Keep it simple,
Remind them of the basics:
What are we going to do? Take the ball away from the other team and kick it into the goal.
Are we going to use our hands? NO
Are we going to play nice? YES
Substitutions.
I usually just round robin the players in and out each quarter, unless someone gets hurt.
This is where having a watch comes in real handy. I used to make the kids stand next to me,
but most of them want to go to their parents for water and compliments. Do whatever
makes sense to you.
Passing
They won't pass. They don’t want to pass. They have been waiting all week to kick the ball, and once they get, it the last thing on their mind is to give it to someone else. Don't make them pass unless you have some really exceptional kids. The only time I really promote passing is when we are slaughtering the other team and I am trying to slow my kids down.
Pushing and shoving
If too much of this goes on in a practice or game, make the offender play with their thumbs stuck in their wasteband. This keeps them from being pushy or using their hands too much.
Injuries
When they fall or cry, don't panic. I tell parents that they are welcome to run onto the
field if they think their child is hurt. I have found that most of the “injuries” in this age
group are for getting attention or embarrassment from a mistake. If I feel that a child is
using this to seek attention, I will give him all the attention he needs….On the sideline. I
will give the requisite amount of sympathy, and then have them sit out an extra two or
three shifts. I explain that I am afraid to put them back in since they were “hurt”. This
usually drives them nuts, as they were planning on a quick "recovery" as soon as the
attention died down. It tends to cause a tapering off effect in the amount of “injuries” we
sustain over the course of a season.
End of the season
Last Practice
Last practice should be parents vs. kids. This is often the highlight of the season for the
kids. Caution your parents to be careful. They are most prone to injure from tripping
over a child and then trying to do something unnatural to keep the child from being
landed upon.
Last Game
Do something fun with the kids, such as have the girls wear pink socks or have the boys come in with their hair the same color as their jersey, or have their faces painted. Just have fun!
Final Thoughts
I hope this helps you get prepared for the season. If you have any suggestions or comments regarding things that have worked for you, please let me know, and we'll add to this handout for future seasons.